As my previous post was so long trying to cover my actual 90-day plan, I also wanted to reflect on my take-out from The Body Coach, so here are my thoughts…

Is this plan worth the £147 you pay? YES.

For me, this was a small fee to pay (which I paid over 3 months at £49 per month). You get a personalised plan, a set menu and food list, and an education in nutrition, fitness and cookery.

Is it as straight-forward as it seems? NO

The way Joe presents the plan on his website and through his Instagram account, it makes out that the training isn’t time intensive, and you can do it at home. I agree and disagree with this.

Yes, you can do it at home no problem, but he does recommend that you do your exercise fasted (meaning as soon as you wake up), but also expects you to drink supplements 30 minutes before starting to train. Therefore I was getting up at 5.30am to drink my supplement, and then start training at 6am, to be finished by 6.30am to either get to work on time or have it completed before my 18-month old got up. With the warm-up and cool down plus your 20-25 minute HIIT workout, it was at least 30 minutes per session sometime longer, opposed to the 20 minute work-out described.

Can you do it all from home? YES and NO

I was also a little annoyed about the variation of weights in Cycles 2 and 3. If I were to buy all of the weights needed, especially as you are expected to increase and decrease the volume of KGs in Cycle 3, you would need a whole family of weights. I had started this plan so I could do it at home, and didn’t have to sign-up to a gym. Now I have finished, and I do want to continue to workout, I will probably look to invest in some weights, and actually set-up a home-gym, but that’s beside the point.

The above two points were the only two cons for me, there were plenty more pros:

Is it another fad diet or truly a lifestyle / mindset change?

Even though I have moaned about the above points, there are so many pro’s to doing this plan. I have been truly educated on the various food groups, and what is good for my body, and why it is so important to refuel your body post exercise. I hear and see all of these fad diets, which I have also fallen victim too , and see that they are never going to be sustainable. I do treat myself now and then to a glass of wine, or a piece of cake or (dark) chocolate, it might even be once every couple of days, whereas I had those treats multiple times a day prior to this plan. Now when I do have them, I enjoy them much more!! Since starting this plan, I can’t remember the last time I walked in to a shop, and bought a chocolate bar, such as Wispa or Snicker. This would be something I would do every time I filled my car up, or each time I popped to the shops at lunch.

This ‘mindset’ change, really hit me when I went food shopping a friend, and they picked-up completely different foods for me. My shopping list is predominantly meat and veg, I don’t go near any pre-packaged, refined foods, I swan through the bakery sections, no cheeses or desserts. In fact the majority of our food shop now comes from a local farmers market, where we get everything fresh, and cheaper.

I have also learnt to cook, and actually enjoy thinking about what foods I can have, and what sauces, or marinades I could add to them. Most of the recipes are based on TBC menus, but I know how to mix them up. I eat a lot more fish and eggs than I previously did, and include a wide variety of veg with every meal – sometimes even for breakfast. My whole outlook on food has changed.

I would advise anyone of thinking of doing this, listen to Joe when he tells you to prep. Week 1 of Cycle 1, I didn’t do this, and it was time intensive every night, and not the best way to kick off the plan. For the remainder of Cycle 1, I pretty much cooked everything in bulk batches, and it saved a lot of time, and made it much easier to stick to the plan. Come Cycle 2 and 3, you get to know the meals, the healthiest ways of cooking food, as your mindset is changing, prepping just becomes part of your day-to-day life, whether that is physically cooking or mentally preparing your meal plan for the days / week ahead.

Finally, I have an exercise schedule and a goal. Previous to TBC, I would run a lot, and do some HIIT training with FitStar, but I would never know what I was aiming for. I would just do it in the hope some weight would fall off and I would be super slim again. Now I have a focus every session, and each session I try to push myself harder with heavier weights or more intense HIIT sessions.

Would I recommend people to do this? DEFINITELY YES.

The fact this is tailored to your body, your strengths and weaknesses. It would never be unachievable for anyone. It isn’t a fad diet, it is a mindset change. Even though I didn’t get the final results I wanted, I have made huge progress. I never thought I would start to see the definition I had at 18, but I can. I actually have a shape to my biceps, no more bingo wings!

I have also seen lots of people drastically change their bodies. One being my elder sister, who in Cycle 1 alone lost 12 inches across her body! I can’t wait to see her results of Cycle 2 and 3.

If you have any specific questions let me know, or tweet me @jenuine_1 .

“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” —Sophia Loren

Lots of people who have had children are so excited when you’re pregnant (Which I now understand, as I have pregnant friends, I am bursting with excitement for them), however no one ever tells you how hard the first weeks of having a baby really is. In prep for this post, I decided to speak with a few friends who have all recently given birth, and find out what they thought were the hardest things.

I had a natural birth, and felt fortunate to only needed gas and air, and came through it with one or two stitches, some cuts and bruises. It was only the next day that the adrenaline started to disappear, the painkillers wore off, and the tiredness kicked in. My whole body started to ache, it hit me like a brick wall. I had pushed a baby out after being awake for over 36 hours, barely eating for 24 of that, and not had any solid sleep since Harry arrived. I just hadn’t expected to be in so much pain, you think you do the hard bit by giving birth, but oh no, there is more. I just kept taking the painkillers, and telling myself that in a week or so I would be healed, and i would be fine…but then came breast-feeding!

One of my biggest challenges, and I am sure many will agree was breast-feeding. I tried, it was hard, very painful, I got mastitus (breastfeeding infection), but I worked through it, and fed Harry for 16 weeks, but I did have cracked nippled for at least 8 weeks, and no one can explain how painful they are. However I do know many people who have wanted to stop, and were told by their health visitors not too, that it wasn’t healthy for their baby to be fed formula “breast was best” apparently.The pressure for women to breastfeed is completely unnecessary, I believe it should be up to the mother if they decide to breast-feed and their decision when to stop.

I recall a moment when Harry was about 2 weeks old, it was 2am, and I was up feeding him. I had gotten about half hours sleep. I was so tired I could barely hold my head up, and I remember thinking “I am never going to sleep properly again”, I felt overwhelmed by my emotions, so happy to be feeding my baby, but so desperate to sleep longer than an hour. It only dawns on you once your baby has arrived, that you may not get uninterrupted sleep again and you will never have a day off from being a mum….’weekend’ for mums don’t exist.

I was warned a little about this by a one or two friends, they told me “five days in and you will cry, ALOT, for no reason”. Yes this happened, I would just burst in to tears, for no reason. I think everything kicks in, the sleep deprivation, the breast-feeding struggles (buckets of tears over this), the enormity of the challenge you have taken on, the post-birth pain, no wonder your body doesn’t have a clue what to do. The crying did ease for me after about two weeks, and most of the time i cried, i would have no idea why, but knew it had to be my hormones as i certainly wasn’t sad.

A few of my friends mentioned in their responses how they struggled once their partners had gone back to work, and were alone with their baby most of the working week. One of my friends (who must be wonderwoman), had twins, and her husband worked away during the week, and that not only did she miss the support, but it was difficult for her partner to bond with their children. Luckily she had her family close by for solid support, and her partner has managed to changed jobs, so he is back living with his family.

What I really struggled with, was the fact our relationship was no longer just us, and we couldn’t watch TV together in the evenings, go see a film etc, we had a third person, who seemed to be hogging all the couple time. I started to miss my boyfriend, even though we lived together, slept in the same bed, I missed having a conversation and staying up to watch tv with him in the evenings, but I was so tired, I would have to get some sleep before Harry woke again.

There are so many more that I want to write about in this post, but it is already getting far too long.

Even after all of the above and more, nothing can compare to the incredible love and affection you feel for your baby, and at least you can feel much more prepared for baby no.2.

Huge thank-you too Julia, Jane, Keri and Kate for your help!

p.s. I love this quote!

“It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.” —Dorothy on The Golden Girls

A lot of people, admittedly me being one of those prior to having my own baby, thought mums who stayed at home had loads of time on their hands. How wrong was I!

I am sure all mums would agree, taking care of a baby 24/7 is a lot harder than it seems, and one thing you never catch, is a break. What I mean by a break is your little one being the responsibility of someone else, be that your partner, a family member, so that you can relax, and know they aren’t going to wake-up just as you sit-down.

Yes the baby will go down for naps, sometimes a few times a day, so why don’t you get a break whilst they’re napping? Perhaps because you always find a million and one things to do round the house. There are always bottles to wash and sterilise, if you’re weaning, there is pureeing and cooking to do, cleaning the house, which seems to get messier now your on maternity leave as you are there all day! If like me, my hair started dropping out 4 months after giving birth, i was hoovering and sweeping everyday. You now have twice the amount of washing and ironing…. the list is endless.

Yes there are the nice things you get to do, like coffee with other mums, shopping, walks in the park, but you’re not relaxing, as you still thinking about the next item on the schedule, well when will the little one need a feed, and do I need to change his nappy, do I want him to fall asleep in the pram or in the car…it is mentally draining.

I have come to realise (only taken me 7 months), that mums need time off too, the same as other people do from their jobs. Sometimes just an hour away from the house, away from other responsibilities, a couple of drinks with a friend, go for a swim, pop round your mums for a cuppa. These are such simple things, that can be overlooked, and I confess I took having ‘me-time’ for granted before having Harry.

I’ve found my blog has been a great escapism. For example today – Saturday, I have been with Harry all week, and unfortunately my partner had a super busy schedule, and so he has been away most of the week. I think this really took its toll on me, being responsible for Harry all week, alone, especially after a 10 day holiday and having support on a daily basis. So today I have been in a funny mood, I had a lie-in which was great and I woke up feeling positive and ready for the day, but as the day progressed, and Harry decided not to have his nap, I’ve become anxious, and snappy, unfortunately taking it out on my partner. Both my baby and his daddy have now gone for a nap, and I have been able to just chill-out (opting to do no cleaning, no cooking, no washing), just me, my blog, and I am about to treat myself to a fresh juice! I feel so much better for just having this past hour, to collect and download my thoughts.

Don’t misinterpret this for me being ungrateful, I love my baby more than anything in the world, but I need to be Jen as well as mummy.

I am going to try and make sure each weekend, I take myself out for a coffee, get my nails done or see some friends, letting the boys have some ‘father and son’ time, and allowing me to have a bit of time to be Jen and not mummy or wife (to be).

It would be great to hear anyones thoughts on how they relax, or have created their own time away from being a mum?

If like me you live in jeans, buy a couple of pairs of maternity jeans – Topshop’s would be my recommendation, you will live in these and they are perfect for the first week or so after baby arrives (they currently have some in the sale!)

Invest in a range of stretchy long cami tops in different colours, these are great for going under everything, and they stretch with your bump. H&M and Primark are the best and cheapest (£3-£4 each), and they go back to their original size once washed

Get under the bump bottoms for summer and over the bump for winter. Also over the bump are better for when your bump is larger

Have leggings ready for post-baby they are by far the most comfortable, and jumper dresses can be a life saver

Patterns and black are the best for hiding or disguising your bump

Invest in some good flats and flip flops, I went through two pairs of Havaianas when pregnant as I lived in them, great for swollen feet too

Not everything has to be maternity, you can just buy larger sizes of normal clothes, then wear them post-baby with a waist belt

Primark underwear is perfect for mums-to-be. I will be doing a post soon about underwear options! Also Primark have just released a maternity range so might be worth checking out

Lots of people told me to invest in spanx, as apparently everything will be like jelly! As much as this was true, after giving birth the last thing I was worried about what getting in to some spanx!

I’d really like to hear any tips you have or advice you can offer for others currently looking to revamp their maternity wardrobe.

So, I thought I’d post an update of my June fitness progress, especially as I am having a total fat day so need to get motivated!!!!!!

Week 1: 2nd – 8th – disappointing!
Only did two Fitstar sessions and still no runs! Harry has cut down his morning naps to about 40 mins – 1 hour so I chose to do Fitstar, as these only take 30 mins and my run is at least 40 minutes, and I hate having to stop before my app program finishes. I was eating unhealthy but I did probably have a drink every night! I vowed the rolling week I would be better.

Week 2: 9th – 15th – an improvement
I did 3 Fitstar sessions this week, and three two mile walks with Harry, plus I cut down my alcohol consumption! I also started hula hooping. This was really hard, I did ten minutes, and in that only managed to continuously spin for 25 seconds! I have got a play hula hoop, after a quick Google I soon realised I needed a proper fitness hula hoop if I want to take this seriously. I read an article written by a mum vying to loose her baby weight through hula hooping. This has inspired me to continue, but not sure I want to invest in the real deal hoop until I know I will continually make use of it.

Week 3: 16th – 22nd – getting motivated
I am writing this on the 22nd, having been on holiday with my parents, Rich an Harry in Cornwall most of the week. I did my Fitstar, and a 4 mile hike on Monday and Fitstar again on Wednesday and Thursday and I did ten minutes of hula hooping too. I am really proud I still did my exercise whilst away, my healthy eating went a bit off track as mum only bought white bread (rich is in heaven as I only buy wholemeal) and we have had a couple of drinks each night. Today I am having a day off, mainly so I can get this blog post out!

As motivation to continue my exercise, I decided to take a picture and post it on here (feeling brave!!!!)

Waist: 30″ / Hips: 36.5″

In August I am going to post an update picture (gives me chance to recover and make up for holiday drinking in July). Fingers crossed I will have trimmed at least an inch.

I am also considering buying a FitBit Flex, my sister has one and loves it, and a couple of my friends have them. This is a wristband that records your daily movement and documents everything in an app. It also monitors your sleep (and I am not a great sleeper). Recording how long you slept for, how many times you woke up and also wakes you up silently so you don’t wake your partner up. This may help me find out why I don’t sleep great, whether it’s my diet, my exercise or lack of.

If anyone has used a Fitbit please let me know whether you would recommend one? They are fairly expensive so would be a big investment for me.

Hints and tips welcome for eating health eating as I really struggle for non-carb based breakfast and lunches. I am having a juice for either one at the moment.

I have never really been one to enjoy writing. It isn’t something I overly enjoy within my job, and something I always struggled with at school. However both my sister, and best friend write blogs and have done for a number of years. I am always really keen to read what they write, and jealous when we go out anywhere and they are ‘snappy happy’ and spotting cool things to write about on their blog. I always thought whatever I write about most will find boring.

Before having Harry I would never have had time to write a blog, I worked between 50 -70 hours every week, I barely had time for my own relationship, had no real hobbies or interests outside work (with the exception of shopping and going out). However since Harry has come along (he arrived 02/12/13), I don’t necessarily have more time, as being ao mum is a 24 hour job, but I have time to enjoy myself more, enjoy my relationship and my family. I had really forgotten that there is so much more to life than work, and I have possibly missed out on the last few years of my own life! So, I wanted to find a way to capture all my memories with more than just a few photos on my iPhone.

My maternity has gone so quickly, I don’t want to forget any of the fun I have had with Harry and my family and friends. Hence why I decided I would capture what I could by starting a blog, this would encourage me to write about my experiences, share them with my family and friends, hopefully help me find what else I am passionate about and be something Harry could maybe read when he is a little older.

I wanted to make sure I was doing this for me, and not to gain followers, or make money from advertising. I am nervous for those who already know me reading this and wondering what the hell I am doing, but here goes!

I have tons to write about now, but my challenge will be to continue with this once I am back at work later this year. Hopefully my sister and best friend will keep me on track!